Two NZ drug smugglers arrested in Japan

With the amount of death and misery Methamphetamine causes, drug smugglers deserve all they get. It is just a shame that the little guys get caught but the organisers usually get away with it.

Two New Zealanders have been arrested at Narita airport in Japan for allegedly trafficking the drug Methamphetamine.

A 26-year-old man and 25-year-old woman travelled to Tokyo on the 17th May on a Thai airways flight from Bangkok, Thailand. They were arrested after 1-2 kilograms of drugs were found concealed in their suitcase at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport this month.

The arrests have prompted Assistant Police Commissioner Malcolm Burgess to issue a warning to New Zealanders about what they say is a trend of people increasingly becoming drug “mules”.

He said people should report any approaches they may get from anyone asking them to carry drugs.

“People thought they could earn easy money by helping organised crime groups to bring illegal drugs into New Zealand or across borders of other countries.”

“The risks these people take are huge.”

“We are finding more and more people are getting caught up in it all for a bit of extra cash or some other benefit.”

The Tokyo arrests come after another high-profile case of New Zealander Sharon Armstrong who was arrested in Buenos Aires on 13th April with 5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in her luggage while on her way to London.

Four months ago a 40 year-old New Zealand passport holder died in Thailand after attempting to smuggle methamphetamine internally out of Bangkok International Airport. Packets of the drug the man had swalowed are believed to have burst and killed him.

Malcolm Burgess said there were few instances where people were an unwitting “mule”, with most knowingly entering into an arrangement to carry drugs.

“The temptation for some people to take the risk is often out-weighed by the cash being offered or some other inducement.”

“But the consequences, should they get caught, are life-ruining and inevitably end up with a long jail sentence or potentially harsher penalties if arrested in some overseas countries.”

Smuggling drugs seems to tap into the same mentality of buying a lottery ticket. All the focus is on the prize and not the odds.